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January 4 - The Fabian Society is founded in London.

January 18 - Dr William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the UK.

February 1 - Edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.

March 13 - The siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins (ends on January 26, 1885).

April 22 - Colchester earthquake, England; the UK's most destructive.

May 1 - the first proclamation of eight-hour workday by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1st, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.

July 5 - Germany takes possession of Cameroon.

August 5 - The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

August 10 - A severe earthquake, magnitude 5.5, (intensity VII) occurs off the northeast Atlantic coast. The area affected extends from central Virginia to southern Maine, and west as far as Cleveland.

October - International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. fixes the Greenwich meridian as the world's prime meridian.

October 6 - United States Naval War College established in Newport, Rhode Island.

October 18 - University of Wales, Bangor (UK) founded.

October 22 - The first woman receives a degree from an Irish university. The degree is granted by the Royal University of Ireland.

November 1 - The Irish Gaelic Athletic Association is founded in Thurles, Ireland.

November 2 - Timişoara is the first town of Europe with streets illuminated by electric light.

November 4 - U.S. presidential election: Democrat Grover Cleveland defeats Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.

November 15 - The Berlin Conference which regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa begins (ends February 26, 1885).

November 25 - British surgeon John Dooglee makes the first successful removal of a brain tumor.

December 1 - American Old West - Near Frisco, New Mexico (now Reserve, New Mexico), deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texan cowboys who want to kill him for arresting cowboy Charles McCarthy (the cowboys were terrorizing the area's Hispanos and Baca was working against them).

December 6 - Washington Monument was completed.

December 16 - World Cotton Centennial World's Fair opens in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Bechuanaland becomes British protectorate.

Stefan-Boltzmann law reformulated by Ludwig Boltzmann.

British Police officers go on armed patrol in London.

Mark Twain writes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

First ascent of Castle Mountain by geologist Arthur Philemon Coleman

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The Water Hyacinth is introduced in the US and quickly becomes an invasive species

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January 2 - Oscar Micheaux, American filmmaker and author (d. 1951)

January 12 - Texas Guinan, American vaudeville performer (d. 1933)

January 13 - Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer and comedian (d. 1966)

January 21 - Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)

January 23 - Ralph DePalma, Italian-born race car driver (d. 1956)

January 28 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist, balloonist, and inventor (d. 1962)

January 31 - Theodor Heuss, German politician and publicist (d. 1963)

February 12 - Max Beckmann, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1950)

February 12 - Marie Vassilieff, Russian artist (d. 1957)

February 13 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American athlete and inventor (d. 1961)

February 14 - Hezekiah M. Washburn, missionary (d. 1972)

February 16 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (d. 1951)

February 18 - Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician (d. 1970)

February 22 - Abe Attell, American boxer (d. 1970)

March 13 - Sir Hugh Walpole, English novelist (d. 1941)

March 17 - Alcide Nunez, American jazz musician (d. 1934)

March 24 - Peter Debye, Dutch chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)

March 25 - Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (d. 1950)

March 26 - Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (d. 1969)

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April 4 - Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese naval commander (d. 1943)

April 6 - Walter Huston, actor (d. 1950)

April 12 - Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1951)

May 1 - Henry Norwest, Canadian World War I sniper (d. 1918)

May 8 - Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)

May 10 - Olga Petrova, English-born actress (d. 1977)

May 14 - Claudius Dornier, German aircraft designer (d. 1969)

May 27 - Max Brod, Austrian author (d. 1968)

May 28 - Edvard Beneš, Austrian politician (d. 1948)

July 12 - Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)

July 15 - Phraya Manopakorn Nititada, Thailand's First Prime Minister (d. 1948)

July 23 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (d. 1950)

August 8 - Sara Teasdale, American poet (d. 1933)

August 10 - Panait Istrati, Romanian writer (d. 1935)

August 23 - Will Cuppy, American humorist (d. 1949)

August 30 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)

September 17 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (d. 1920)

September 24 - Hugo Schmeisser, German weapons designer (d. 1953)

October 11 - Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)

October 11 - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)

November 20 - Norman Thomas, American social reformer (d. 1968)

December 3 - Walther Stampfli, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1965)

December 30 - Tojo Hideki, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)

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M. Louise Gross, American politician and lobbyist (d. 1951)

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January 6 - Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist (b. 1822)

January 25 - Johann Gottfried Piefke, German conductor and composer (b. 1815)

March 1 - Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician (b. 1820)

March 21 - Ezra Abbot, American Bible scholar (b. 1819)

April 4 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist (b. 1858)

May 12 - Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (b. 1824)

May 13 - Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (b. 1809)

June 25 - Hans Rott, Austrian composer (b. 1858)

July 1 - Allan Pinkerton, American detective (b. 1819)

July 10 - Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)

November 16 - František Chvostek, Moravian physician (b. 1835)

November 25 - Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, German chemist (b. 1818)